Kosovo Police Take Control of Border in Serb-Dominated Area

Kosovo police moved overnight into
parts of Serb-populated northern Kosovo, taking control of one
border crossing with its larger neighbor and drawing criticism
from the European Union.

NATO, Serbian and Kosovo authorities are still working on a
solution, KFOR spokesman Capt. Hans Wichter said in a phone
interview today. The move by Kosovo special police to seize
control of the Brnjak crossing, prompting local Serbs to erect
roadblocks, was “not helpful,” said Maja Kocijancic, a
spokeswoman for European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton.

“It was not done in consultation either with the European
Union or the international community and we do not approve of
it,” Kocijancic told reporters today in Brussels. “What we
believe needs to happen now is that the situation calms down and
we return to where we were before this escalation.”

Serbia needs to come to terms with its former province,
which declared independence in 2008, as a key requirement to
open EU membership talks this year after it turned over the last
war crimes suspect to a court in The Hague. Serbia wants EU
candidacy to bring in investment and aid its recovery from the
deepest recession since its economy collapsed in the wake of
Yugoslavia’s bloody collapse.

Trade Dispute

The tension between the two sides escalated last week after
Kosovo, whose independence is recognized by 22 of 27 EU members,
imposed a trade embargo on Serbian products in reaction to the
country’s refusal to recognize it.

“We believe that for the solution of trade, the dialogue
is the right way forward,” said Kocijancic. “We believe the
dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina can find the appropriate
solutions so that free trade in all directions can resume.”

The border crossings between the mostly Serb-populated
northern Kosovo and central Serbia have been under the control
of a special EU mission, known as Eulex.

Local Serbs set up road blockades to try to prevent the
Kosovo police from taking control of two other border crossings
in the area, Jarinje and Rudare, Serbian media and the
Associated Press reported.

The situation in the area has “calmed down a lot,” KFOR’s
Wichter said, adding he can “neither confirm nor deny” reports
about apparent withdrawal of Kosovo police from the border
crossings.

EU Talks

“I heard the same from people on the scene, but
discussions are continuing,” he said.

Serb Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic’s government wants to
get a date for the start of membership talks by the end of this
year as it implements changes to improve the judicial system and
fight corruption and organized crime in hope of getting a
positive assessment from EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule
on Oct. 12.

The dinar strengthened for a third day, gaining 0.6 percent
to 103.24 per euro as of 3:08 p.m. in Belgrade.

Serbia’s chief negotiator with Kosovo Borislav Stefanovic
said today he asked Maj. Gen. Erhard Buehler, the commander of
NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo, to mediate and has requested
Kosovo’s government to “recall” police.

“We do hope that this won’t escalate into a
confrontation,” he said. “We hope there will be no
escalation” and “the situation will be resolved within
hours,” he told Serbian state broadcaster RTS.

Freedom of Movement

Eulex urged both sides to resolve the situation “in a calm
and peaceful manner,” according to a statement received today,
and is coordinating with peacekeepers.

Earlier this month, Belgrade and Pristina agreed to allow
freedom of movement of respective citizens who carry identity
cards, driving licenses and some registration plates issued by
the other side, excluding passports, as part of their dialogue
held under the auspices of the EU.

Serbia last week extradited Goran Hadzic, the last top
commander sought by the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia, a month after sending former Bosnian Serb
General Ratko Mladic to The Hague, meeting a key condition for
the start of EU entry talks.